Jennifer DiNoia as Elphaba and Hayley Podschun as Glinda in "Wicked" the musical.

Watching Hayley Podschun's captivating Glinda on Thursday night at the Marcus Center, I realized how much this ambitious sorority girl from Oz has in common with the musical in which she co-stars with Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West.

Like the dazzling Glinda, "Wicked" knows how to milk an entrance, fill a room and put on a show. This is the same tour that was here in 2010, and the production values in evidence then continue to impress, from the lavish Edwardian costumes and matching steampunk set to the spectacular lighting design and 14-piece pit orchestra. | June 14, 2013»Read Full Article

Marcus Theatres is upping the ante in its alternative movie programming this fall, adding a bucket of old comedy favorites and some limited-run showings of art-house fare that had little or no big-screen time in Milwaukee to the occasional concert and special-event shows that turn up regularly in its theaters.

SURG has ended its business relationship with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, and the restaurant bearing his name in the Third Ward will close at the end of the year, the restaurant group announced today, further fallout from Braun's suspension.

His name will be removed from the restaurant at 102 N. Water St. Braun’s name already has been removed from the restaurant's website, including from the URL. The restaurant now is called simply Graffito instead of Ryan Braun’s Graffito. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Blog Post(83)

UWM Union Theatre

This year, the Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., has switched to month-to-month schedules, and so far has only released its September lineup. It features dramas, documentaries, world cinema, classics and experimental films, many screened on DVD. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

Many of the summer's films were sci-fi-centric, and most of them looked the same. Perhaps the sheer number of them guaranteed that not all would do well at the box office. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

All films are created equal until you see them. Then the cream rises to the top and the others sink like a stone.

The list below contains some of both, for those opening in Milwaukee from now through the Friday before Thanksgiving. Time will tell which is which. As usual, their release dates are subject to change. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

No time to hibernate: Autumn and winter will bring an array of prominent cookbook authors to Milwaukee, including a Michelin three-star chef, a restaurateur from the Deep South, a co-founder of Chicago's French Pastry School and an expert on wild foods.

More than books will be involved — where there are chefs, there will be food. Milwaukee restaurants will be the hosts for book dinners as their chefs cook for guests. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

David HB Drake has performed “Wiscon-Sing” for a new CD\DVD package released this year.

There aren't many opportunities for folk singers to go full time, but David HB Drake found a way to make it work, while also celebrating our state's history and teaching multiple generations of Wisconsin children a thing or three.

The 66-year-old Waukesha resident has been performing "Wiscon-Sing," a musical history of the state, for 33 years. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

Jane Austen would spin in her nearly 200-year-old grave at the crude and broad movie made in her name.

Knowing it already has the attention of the hardcore fans of her books such as "Persuasion," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Sense and Sensibility," "Austenland" sets its sights on the mass audience — and fails both groups. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article

Cage the Elephant doesn't have a show booked for a Milwaukee venue (that's publicly known anyway), but the high-energy, Kentucky-based rock band is playing in town anyway--at the Exclusive Company, 1669 N. Farwell Ave., at 7 p.m. Sept. 29.

Not only is the performance-which will include an autograph session--in a more intimate setting than the band's generally playing these days--the show is also free. | Sept. 5, 2013»Read Full Article